LIU Brooklyn moving back up in KenPom rankings

Last night, after LIU Brooklyn’s 97-70 win at Rice, the Blackbirds evened their record to 4-4. LIU is now on a four-game winning streak after starting the season on a four-game losing streak. As their season has yo-yo’ed so far, so has their KenPom ranking.

KenPom is a ranking created by advanced-statistics guru Ken Pomeroy on his website kenpom.com. Anyone can go on his website and see his rankings at anytime for free but going deeper into his site requires a $19.95 yearly subscription. I’ve made in the investment before the start of the season and for me, it has been well worth the money. If you want a further breakdown of his rankings, click the help button above the years.

LIU Brooklyn started the season in the KenPom rankings at 133, third in the NEC in KenPom standings behind Robert Morris (84) and Wagner (116). As the season began and the LIU went through their four-game slide to begin the season, their KenPom ranking dropped from 133 all the way down to 163. LIU’s KenPom ranking then went back up to 152 after their first win against Columbia but eventually went all way down to 188 before the Blackbirds took on Rice last night even with a three-game winning streak before that. They were fourth in the NEC in the KenPom standings behind Robert Morris, Wagner, Quinnipiac.

After last night’s win at Rice, LIU’s KenPom rankings is back up to 143, making a 45-place jump. They are still behind Robert Morris (116) and Wagner (121) in the NEC KenPom rankings as of today. KenPom ranking isn’t by any means the end-all, be-all. Last season, for example, LIU Brooklyn finished fourth in the NEC according to KenPom standings with a 163-rank behind Wagner (112), RMU (113), and Quinnipiac (138) even though they won the NEC regular-season and tournament. Yet, KenPom factors in a lot of things the RPI ranking doesn’t. Right now, LIU’s RPI is only 227 and their strength of schedule is only 291.

We are still in December so all these numbers will change up and down as the season goes along. This is good to just get a temperature check on LIU now that they are back at .500.